Following the team with a unique perspective on all things Phillies.Email me: PhilliesPhollowers@comcast.net – Peace, Love & Baseball – Jenn

Wilson! A Strange Phillies Trade…

In an odd move this week, the Phillies traded my favorite utility man, Wilson Valdez, to the Reds for a minor-league pitcher. 26-year old Jeremy Horst spent most of last season with triple-A Louisville, where he posted a 1-4 record and had a 2.81 ERA in 36 games. He did make 12 relief appearances for the Reds and posted a 2.93 ERA. Horst will get an invite to Spring Training.

But back to Valdez…I am not really sure what the Phillies are thinking, aside from the fact that they picked up maybe a few too many bench pieces this offseason. But among all of those bench guys, Valdez seems like the most valuable. Certainly in the last two years, he has proven his worth, filling in anywhere and everywhere he was needed.

Most notabley, Valdez picked up the majority of the slack when Jimmy Rollins was injured. And in a 19-inning affair this past May with the Reds (oddly enough, his new team), Valdez even pitched an inning, picking up a win.

Perhaps Bob Vetrone of “Boopstats” on Philly.com explained it best with this chart. Having started 1/2 of the regular season games for the Phillies, here is how the team did both with and without Valdez:

Not too shabby. And here are a few more important stats, this time with my own special chart:

As you can see, Wilson Valdez has pissed me off far less than all other Phillies combined. If you divide by the other 24 players on the roster, the average percentage of time each other individual Phillie pissed me off would be 4.12% compared to Wilson’s total of only 0.72%.

Not only that, but Wilson played with heart and truly appreciated his place on this team. He will be sorely missed. So, so sad….

5 Comments

Jenn, you kept track of how many times each player pissed you off?? ;-) Anyway, I have mixed feelings about the trade – while Valdez is great in the field, his production at the plate was so-so, and he certainly seemed to hit into more than his share of double-plays.

BTW, make sure to check out my latest post, full of photos of your favorite “side” of the Phillies. ;-)

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